Unitary dental apparatus



6 Sheets-Sheet 2 O H PIEPER ET AL UNITARY DENTAL APPARATUS OriginalFil'Led Sept. 5, 1917 Jan. l, 1929.

' Jan. l, 1929.

. Original Fld Sept. 5, 1917 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 /M/ENTUIPS:

Jan. 1, 1929.

O. H. PIEPER ET AL UNITARY DENTAL APPARATUS s she-ets-sneet 4 OriginalFiled Sept. 5, 1917 Jan. 1, 1929. 1,697,287

f o. H. P IEPER ET AL UNITARY DENTAL APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 5,1917 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 /UTYSQ Jan. '1, 1929. 1,697,287

O. H. PIEPER ET AL UNITARY DENTAL APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 5, 19176 Sheets-Sheet 6.

Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

UNI-TED STA-rss OSCAR H. PIEPERAND ALPHONSE F.

PIEPER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

UNITARY DENTAL APPARATUS.

Original application led September 5, 1917, Serial No. 189,825. PatentN0.r1,376,356, dated April 26, 1921. Divided and this application filedSeptember 3, 1920. Serial No. 407,986.

This application is divisional from our co- )endino anlication SerialNo. 189,825, l e ll a filed September 5, 1917, Which issued as PatentNo. 1,376,356 on April 26, 1921.

Our invention has for its object to provide an apparatus for the `use ofdentists which Will facilitate the performance of various operations, inwhich tit is intended to bring numerous instruments and pieces ofmechanism, which a dentist is called upon to use most frequently,nearest at hand. Vith this end in view We have provided a unitarystructure in which various appliances are assembied rin juxtapositionand mounted upon a column, or standard, which may be located Within eachreach of the o erators position at the side of the dental cliair, saidstandard having certain novel features of construction whereby theelectrical apparatus, such as the dental motor, and controlk circuitsthereof, and other mechanisms, are associated conveniently with themouth instruments, comprising the hot air syringe, mouth mirrorsA andcautery, and the low voltage devices employed for supplying currentthereto together with the operating means therefor. To these and otherends the inventionconsists in certain improvements and combinations ofparts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novelfeatures being pointed out in the claim at the end ofthe specification.

In the drawings: l y, Figure l is a front elevation of a unitaryapparatus constructed Iin accordance with our present invention;

Figures 2 and' 3 are enlarged vvertical sectional vievvs taken on thelinev 2X- X of Figure 1, the former showing the upper portion of theapparatus and the latter the bottom thereof;

Figure 4 is a detail rear elevation of the upper portion of the column,or pillar;

Figure 5 is a similar view of the bottom half thereof;

Figure 6 is a top plan View of the column;

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 7 X of Figure4;

` Figure 8 is a similar view taken on the line SX-SX of Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 9*-9X ofFigure 4 illustrating the heaters for atomizer bottles;

Figure 10 is a detail illustration of the switch mechanism for thecircuit of said heaters on the line 10X10X of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a rear view taken on the line 11X-11X of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a detail sectional view of the upper end of the motorsupport-ing arm and the contacts in the motor circuit permitting themotor to be rotated;

Figure 13 is a diagrammatic illustration of the circuits of the variouspieces of electrical apapratus employed in conjunction with thedifferent instruments.

Similar reference characters throughout the several drawings indicatesimilar parts.

To facilitate the work of a dentist We have brought into closerelationship in a single apparatus those devices for which he has themost frequent use, and have assembled them on a support in the form of acolumn, in which the air pipes and cord circuitsfor the variousinstruments are concealed, as are also the circuit Wires for the motor,and the Water supply pipe for the cuspidor, this pipe, as Well as theWaste pipe, having union, or joint connections by means of which theymay be attached to the service pipes of the building, arranged on thebase of the column, Where access may be conveniently had to them througha removable portion of the column. The hand instruments, such as the hotair syringe, the cautery, the examination lamp, and the air nozzle forthe atomizers,

are supported above the top of the column, and the air pipes and cordcircuits for these various instruments are looped Within the column. Tothis end the latter is made of sufficient height to provide loops insaid cords of sufcient length to enable the apparatus to be locatedpreferably at the left hand side of the operating chair in a positionfacing the operator, so that he may easily reach one or another of theinstruments and carry it to the point of operation, irrespective of theadjustment of the dental chair itself.

l rl'he column, or pillar, indicated by l, is preferably oval in crosssection, as shown in Figures 6 andy 7, providing the parallel front andrear faces 2 and 3, the former carrying on its inner side the variousparts of the electrical apparatus which Will be more fully describedhereinafter, and the latter being provided with upper and lower openingsWhich are normally closed by the removable panels 4 and 5. The column isprovided at its top with the horizontal table portion 6, at the rearside of which is an upwardly extending offset top portion of the columncomprising the front face 7 provided with a plurality of apertures, theside walls and the rear wall having an aperture normally closed by thecover-plate 8. This offset portion provides a support for the air gaugesand certain devices indicating the electrical condition of the apparatusin a position where they can be observed by the operator at the momentan instrument is picked up, or' selected. A further function of theoffset top portion is the provision of a support for clips, or holders,for the various instruments, as indicated by 9 (Figures 2 and 6).

The position which the column, oi' pillar, is intended to occupy withreference to the operating chair permits its further' use as a supportfor the usual cuspidor 10, and dental engine, or motor 11, both of whichare mounted upon hollow bracket arms, or supports, preferably disposedat opposite sides of the column, one arm thus serving to counter balancethe other. The arm which supports the cuspidor 10 is indicated by 12,and contains a water supply pipe 13 and the waste pipe 14, which may, ormay not, be included Wholly within the column. 1n Figure 5 we have shownthe supply pipe located in the column, and the waste pipe disposedexteriorly; but whichever way these pipes are arranged we prefer, forthe sake of neatness and general appearance of the apparatus when setup, that thel lower ends of these pipes be included within vthe column,and to this end a pedestal extension 15 is provided at one side for theaccommodation of the unions, or pipe couplings, 13a and la, as shown inFigure 5.

The motor supporting arm, as indicated by 16, extends upwardly andcontains a plurality of motor circuit wires 17 (Figure 12), whichterminates in a corresponding number of insulated contact rings 18,mounted on the reduced upper end of the arm, and held in place thereonby the nut 19. The motor carrying member, indicated by 20, is attachedto the motor at its pivotal point of support, 21, and curves over themotor and extends downwardly and forwardly into the vplane of the axisof the armature 22, thus maintaining the center of gravity in alinementwith the arm 16, and minimizing any tendency of the member 2O to bind inits bearing. The member 2O is also hollow, and at its lower end litsover the cylindrical portion of the arm 16, formed by the contact rings18, and contains a number of spring contacts, or brushes 18a, from whichcorresponding wires 18b extend to the motor terminals. The'brushes 18aare mounted on an insulating plate 20a, contained in enlargement 20bformed at the lower end of the member 20, which is closed by detachableplate 20.

In order to support the various hand instruments which the dentist isrequired to use in the mostaccessible position we mount the rectangularinstrument tray 23 on the jointed arms 28 and 23h, and pivot the latteron the bracket 16, preferably at a point just below the end of the motorcarrying member 20, as will be seen in Figures 1 and 12.

The particular selection of the air and electrically operated handinstruments which we prefer to provide, are a. hot air syringe A, acautery B, one hand pie e C for iniscellaneous detachable instruments,such canal dryer, antrum lamp, wax spatula, or bleacher point. Theremaining instruments are the examination lamp D and the air nozzle E,which latter, it will be understood, is used in select-ive cooperationor one of the plurality of atomizers containing mouth i washes, orantiseptic solutions. The air pipes for the syringe Ai and the nozzle Eand the cord circuits for syringe A, and the remaining instruments B, Cand D enter apertures in the horizontal table portion 6, and are loopedtherein around suitable counter balances comprising pulleys 24, carryingweights 25 and travelling on the parallel guide rods 26. The inner endsof the cord circuits are attached to binding lposts 27 (Figure 8)carried on the flange 28 ot' horizontal plate 29, which Valso comprisesthe support for the upper enus of the guide rods 26. The plate 29 isheld in position by screws 30, which pass through ears on the plate andenter lugs formed within the column. r1`he air pipes for the instrumentsA and E are indicated by a and e and the cord circuits for theinstruments B, C and D are indicated respectively as Z), c and nl. Thehot air syringe A, which also comprises an electrical heating element,has a corr circuit, the conductors Iof which pass interiorly through thepipe-a. rllhese conductors are indicated by in Figure 2, and are shownas vextending upwardly from the binding post 27 to the point ofattachment to the latter with the source of air supply.

The air is supplied to the pipes a and c under pressure from a suitablereservoir (not shown) from which the pipe 31 passes into the bot-tom ofthe column, where it is provided with the union 31, opposite the loweropening in saidv column. From this point the pipe continues upwardly asindicated by 311, to a suitable filter 31, preferably arrangedexteriorly on the rear wall 3 of the column, so that the filteringmedium therein may be easily replenished, as occasion requires. From thefilter the pipe continues, as indicated by 31d, to the two regulatingvalves 32 and 33, connection with the latter being through a branch 31e.The

'igea-'merz valves 32 and 33 are mounted on the side Walls of the offsettop portion of the colmnn and arek provided with regulating knobs 32.aand 33 respectivelyby means of which the higher air pressure may bereduced to the pressure which the operator` may desire to use inoperating instruments A and E. The hose flexible air pipes a and e areconnected respectively with the outlet ports of the reducing valves,said connections being,` by means of the pipes 32.b and 33, Shownparticularly in Figures 2 and 4:. VThe reducing valves 32 and 33 arearranged in the'side walls of the offset portion of the column, and theair-instrumentsA and E are located at the opposite endsof the row ofinstruments, so that the air pipes, because of their greater bulk, maybe disposed near the lateral edges ofV the column, the portions thereofleading" downwardly` from the air gauges lying adjacent the frontV wallof the column and between it and the other devices supported thereon,while the upwardly extending loops of said. air pipes are adjacent therear wall of the column. In their upper course the air pipes'a and e,are guided in apertures 29n formed in ears at the rear corners of theplate 29.-

Separate air gauges 34 and 35, correspondingto reducingl valves 32 and'33 are fitted in two of the apertures in they front face 7 of the ofilset portion of the column. These gauges are connected with theirrespective valves by pipes 84a and 35and being adjacent the regulatingvalves and directly in rear of the air instruments they may beconveniently observed both when an instrument is selected and when a.valve is regulated to increase, or decrease pressure.. The lower ends ofthe guide rods 26, on which the counter balances for the cord circuitstravel are supported by ay plate 40, which is accessible through theopening at the base ofthe column.. It issecured by anfupwardly extendingflange 40a bolted to the lug a0", andby a similar flange Lc at itsforward edge, which serves as a support for the lower end of the circuitterminal board. 41, the upper end of which is rigidly bolted to the ear41 projecting inwardly from the rear wall of the column above the loweropening.

In Figure 13 we have shown diagrammatically the various circuitsprovided for controlling the motor v11, and the various low voltageinstruments, and as these circuits aresubstantially the same as thoseillustrated in Figure of Letters Patent, No. 1,211,752, granted to usJanuary 9, 1917, specific reference to each of the conductors and itsindividual terminal contacts need not be here made, but in order tofacilitate an understanding of this view in conjunction with themechanical part shown in other figures of the drawings, and also tobring out certain new features which we have incorporated in theapparatus, some of the parts will be referred to briefly.

The transformer which we have provided comprises the primary coils 4-2and secondary coils 43 from which lead taps to switch terminals on apanel 114, which also supports the primary and secondary coils, and isattached permanently to studs 45 on the inner front face 2 of thecolumn. Extending through the latter are the concentrically arrangedswitch operating members Gr and H and I and J attached to the inner andouter switch arms g, z, and a', respectively. The switches G, H, I and Jcontrol the voltage of current flowing through the cord circuits leadingto the instruments A, B, C and D.

In the diagram, Figure 13, the main, or masterswitch, is indicated by K,which, it will be seen, in Figure 1, occupies the upper left handlocation on the column just below the top 6. The main line conductorslead from the terminal board 41 to the master switch.4 By closing itscontacts 'all the other portions of the apparatus are renderedserviceable, and by opening them the operator is assured that allcurrent to the apparatus has been cut olf. .To afford a visnalindication of the condition of the electrical apparatus the pilot lightL' is provided and associated with the switch K so that when the latterisclosed the light is illuminated. The pilot lamp is preferably locatedin the top portion of the column in rear of the aperture lc in the frontwall 7, which, in Figure 1, will be observed is between the gauges 34and 35. lVhen the switch K is operated to the closed position the 'otherapparatus may be brought into circuit by closing additional switches,the one for the low voltage instruments being indicated by L. Otherswitches in the order in which they appear, reading downwardly onFigures 1 and 13 are as follows: M, for the ionization circuit; Nfor theplug a towhich a fan, or an extra motor may be attached; Q, for closingthe circuit of the dental engine, or motor 11, in conjunction with theusual foot cont-roller attached at 0 by me'ans of the cable 0'; I), acircuit for the bottle heaters; Q, and R, are each` switches whichcontrol circuits which may be idle and are provided for theaccommodation of additionall apparatus which the operator may wish tocontrol from the column. A number of fuse plugs indicateddiagrammatically, are inserted at necessary points, and in Figure 1 areshown as being accessible at the front of the column for convenience inreplacing them when occasion requires.

In Figure 13 two new features are shown in the circuit arrangement,namely, an ionization current circuit from which a low voltage currentis used asan agency in certain local treatments of teeth to facilitatethe carrying of therapeutic agent, or medicai al ment,.to the desiredpoint ot application. Current is conveyed to the switch M, over theconductor m, thence by conductor 1m" to the combined motor-transformerand motorgenerator M', shown in Figure 3 and represented by the terminalabbreviations A. (1 -D. C. in Figure 13. in the event a ternatingcurrent is supplied the apparatus M converts it into a direct current,whereas it direct current is received over the main line conductorsthrough the master switch K at the usual high voltage it is stepped downto the desired amount of approximately 40 volts. The current thussupplied should be administered to the patient very gradually, and forthis reason an ionization rheostat T is provided and split ring t ofgraphite resistance is employed, the two ends of which are connectedrespectively with the positive and 'negative sides of the circuitleading from the motor-transformer, or motor-generator M', asrepresented by the wires t and t2 respectively. `Within the resistancering t is ring t3, and cooperating` with these two rings is a switch armtt, which is operated by a switch handle t5, located at the center otthe -column near the upper end thereof'. rihe ring t3 of the switch isconnected by the wire 256 to the niilliammeter T', occupying thenppermost portion of the oii set top oi thev pedestal. rlhe out-goingconductor t?, leadine from the milliammeter, terminates in the plugsocket ts and adjacent thereto is a similar socket t9, which is incircuit with the positive wire t2. The sockets s and t9 are intended toreceive plugs on the two wires lused foi ionization purposes. in mostinstances the negative side of the circuit forms the electrode which iseither held in the hand of the patient, or clamped to the cheek, whilethe other wire completes the circuit through the medicating needle, orinstrument. Vlt will be observed that the position ot the switch arm tt,with reference to the opening, or gap, in the ring t determines theamount oit' current which flows through the millammeter and thence tothe patient.

The assembled apparatus also embodies heaters 46, preferably arranged inpairs at opposite sides ot the column, which are adaptedto receiveatomizer bottles, as will be understood. In Figures 9, l0 and ll, thedetail construction of one of these pairs of heaters is shown,comprising abraclret 47 having at its outer edge a laterally eX- tendinghollow arm 48, provided with collars 49 Vwithin which are fitted sleeves50 provided with insulation and carrying the resistance windings 51,which comprises the heating elements. The latter are rounded by sheaths52, which are united at their upper ends with the inner sleeves 50 bv acollar 53. The opening` in the arm 4S communicates with the interior ofthe heater, and leading therefrom is an opening 54, closed by a screwplug 55, which can be opened to drain the heater in the event -fluid, ormoisture, accumulates therein. The flow of current through the heatingcoils 5l is cont-rolled by a switch having three terminal points asshown, with which cooperates a switch arm 56,- adapted to be adjusted byhandle 57 which projects outwardly between the pair of heater cups. Oneend of the heating coil of each cup is connected by a wire 58 to onepole of switch P and wiper 56 is connected by the wire 59 with one poleof the master switch K.

rlhe present invention provides a means of locating in a most compactmanner lthe low voltage electric instruments, air instruments andcontrol devices for each, together with the high voltage apparatus, suchas the dental motor, and suchl other mechanisms as the dentist may wishto use, in most convenient and accessible torni, all combined into aunitary structure capable of adjustment as a whole at the side of theoperating chair. f

We claim as our invention:

In a dental equipment, an ionization current circuit comprising aswitch, a transformer, a motor-generator, means for connecting intocircuit either said transformer or said motor generator, and a rheostat,said circuit being open at two plug and socket contacts, complementaryplug and socket contacts for said rst named plug and socket contacts, amedicating needle connected with one of said second named plug andsocket contacts, and an electrode connected with the other ot saidsecond named plug and socket contacts.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 27 th day ofJuly, 1920.

OSCAR H. PIEPER. ALPHONSE F. PIEPER.

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